


Crushes

by GamblingDementor



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: Crushes, F/M, Falling In Love, Gen, Jealousy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-24 11:37:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7506814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GamblingDementor/pseuds/GamblingDementor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fools in love jump to conclusions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Benny

It starts with a cup of coffee.

 

The heater by the front desk of Rosario's has broken down and Benny feels chilled to the bone. Damn winters in New York City. He thinks he might just understand why Usnavi can't shut up about his island far away from here. He'd give anything to be on a warm beach with palm trees and cute girls right now, but his boss asked him to cover the front desk and welcome any customer that might come. It's been two hours of nothing but freezing to death so far. It seems the cold winter isn't inspiring anyone to rent a car or a limousine. Still, Benny's tie is straight, his shirt tucked in, a smile on his face whenever he crosses any bywalker's gaze. He is always the model employee.

 

Nina walks down the street and waves at him through the window. He waves back, though his teeth are chattering and his arms shaking despite him. He watches as she walks inside the bodega on the other side of the street, giving Usnavi a hug over the counter. Benny's eyes wander longer than he should − distracted from work, how unprofessional of him. Thankfully, the first client of the day walks in for a car rent and Benny's mind is focused again. When the woman walks out, however, she holds the door to Nina stepping in with two cups of coffee.

 

"I saw you freezing to death over here!"

 

Smiling from ear to ear, she hands him a cup and her warm fingers from the hot liquid brush against his before she puts her gloves back on, and suddenly Benny's mouth goes dry. He takes a sip of coffee and warmth spreads through his body, though he's not sure if the coffee is the reason. He's of a mind that the sight before him is much more invigorating.

 

"I wasn't sure how you take your coffee so I just ordered it like Dad, one cream…

 

"… five sugars," they finish together and Nina smiles, laughter in her short breath before she takes a sip of her own cup. He takes his coffee black with two sugars but it's perfect as it is.

 

She stands there, leaning on the desk as Benny's whole life is turned upside down without her knowing, long enough to change everything he thought he knew. He now understands nothing beyond the rosy pink of her cheeks from the winter cold, the way the hat she pushed down to below her ears makes her hair come out all puffy under its brim, the shape of her nose that he suddenly finds cute even though he never even noticed it before, the sparkle of her eyes that shows only a fraction of the wit he knows her to have and how desperately he wants her to stay here with him forever. And all that in the fraction of a second, in a single hand touch. Life is strange.

 

He's not so dumb that he doesn't understand what's happening. Crushes happen all the time, to most people. It's a little more unfortunate when the crush he has is on a girl he _knows_ he can never have. Nina's going to college next year, she's brilliant and perfect, she's his boss's daughter, and he has no chance with her whatsoever.

 

He starts noticing more things after that cup of coffee.

 

There's things he doesn't even know how he missed before. The way Nina's eyes twinkle when she smiles, which is often. How happy she looks when she's meeting up with her friends (and how envious he feels). The way she takes Abuela's hands in hers, how devoted and loving she is. She makes the people around her shine and be better versions of themselves after they've spent time with her. Most of all him. He feels bigger and stronger and kinder when she's around.

 

There's things he wish he didn't notice. He never noticed how often Nina walks over to the bodega, he never noticed how Usnavi and her always hug in the morning when she grabs a coffee before school every day. He never noticed how much they talk, how often they go to Abuela's together, how close they are. Day after day, he starts to pick up on little details, the way she smiles with fondness when Usnavi jokes, shaking her head, the way she went to him first the day she finally got that letter from Stanford, just before coming to Benny, the way Usnavi always invites her over when Abuela cooks something special and he wants to share it with the people he loves. Benny notices all these things and feels slightly less big, strong and kind.

 

Nina leaves for college, makes everyone so proud their heart aches, and Benny thinks that might be the end of it. He's not going to keep a crush on a girl paving her own way thousands of miles across the country, is he? Logically, this should be the end of it. Illogically, it isn't.

 

"Yo, I got a call from Nina just now," Usnavi tells him with the largest grin as he enters the bodega. "She's just started her classes, says it's awesome."

 

Benny squints his eyes. _Of course_ she'd call Usnavi. Of course she'd tell _him_ all about her classes. Why would she care about Benny? He's not even Latino.

 

"'Kay," he groans.

 

Usnavi starts to fuss around the bodega, getting Benny everything he always asks for in the morning without even needing to be told, and yammers on and on about what Nina confided in _him_ , precious Usnavi from DR she loves so much, it seems, enough to tell him all about California. It's not before he has everything lined up on the counter and a coffee cup shoved in Benny's hands that he notices Benny has kept silent.

 

"Hey man, you alright?"

 

"I'm _fine_ ," Benny bites out, and almost makes to leave the bodega without even buying anything, but the way Usnavi's brows crunch up in confusion, the lying jerk, Benny wants to have it all out after all. "Look, I know what you're hiding."

 

Sonny walks into the bodega and Usnavi has to whisper, but Sonny just pours himself a multi-layered slushee and sips it, with the energy of a slug. He is not always the best morning person.

 

"Look, keep it down, man, we're trying to hide it from Sonny."

 

"Hide it from _Sonny_?!" Benny whispers, perhaps too loud. "How about hiding it from me?!"

 

"From you…?" Usnavi says, louder. "You've got nothing to do with this."

 

"Look, man, I thought I was your best friend, you coulda at least told me you were into Nina."

 

Far from guilt or resilience, Usnavi's face turns to… confusion?

 

"I'm not into Nina," he says, as if that was obvious. Well, it's not obvious to Benny.

 

"Then what the fuck are you talking about?"

 

"Me and Abuela, we're taking Sonny downtown for a movie marathon for his birthday next week, what are _you_ talking about?" Usnavi whispers.

 

Oh, shit. Well, if there's one thing Benny is, it's honest, and he came here for answers.

 

"Why the fuck are you flirting with Nina?" He asks and doesn't bother to lower his voice anymore.

 

Sonny drops his slushee on the floor and falls to his knees to clean up, his face still perked up to listen to any excuse Usnavi might give. But Usnavi is just staring, mouth open like a stupid fish, eyes wide. Benny _needs_ to know.

 

"Dude, that's sick," he finally says. "I ain't flirting with Nina. Ever."

 

_Denial_ , Benny thinks. But nothing on his friend's face reads like denial.

 

"You're not?"

 

"No! That's so gross, it'd… It'd be like flirting with Sonny. Disgusting!"

 

"Excuse you," Sonny retorts, pouring himself a second slushee. "I am very flirtable with."

 

"That's not what I meant, get to work!"

 

Sonny snorts but does walk over to the back room to grab a few boxes of supplies to put onto the shelves. Meanwhile, Usnavi is staring at Benny uncomfortably.

 

"I ain't into Nina, man," he repeats. "Like, not at all."

 

There's something in his voice that makes Benny doubt what he thought he'd uncovered.

 

"You're not?"

 

"No, I mean, we grew up together, she's like a cousin, or like a sister," he grimaces. "That's just gross to think about."

 

"A'ight."

 

He taps the counter of the bodega nervously. He should go now, but he feels weird leaving things like this. Sonny is piling tin cans in the back corner, periodically glancing back to check on the situation. Usnavi is still staring, still too closely to Benny's taste.

 

"So, d'you, erm…" Usnavi starts but the sentence dies before its term and he just pours them both a cup of coffee.

 

"Do I what?"

 

"You and Nina? You do?"

 

"I don't know what you're talking about, buddy."

 

" _Bueno_ , then," Usnavi says and that's the end of that.

 

Benny takes his coffee to go, his newspapers and forgets his Milky Way but he isn't going back in there any time soon.

 

When he gets back home that night, he finds his phone laying on his bed, forgotten this morning. He pulls it up and finds that he has a voicemail and a text. He opens the text first.

 

_tried to call you… hope you're doing great, first day of classes was great! call me xoxo_

 

He's already got a smile on his face when he opens the voicemail and by then he drops flat on his bed, staring at the ceiling with the biggest grin and hears Nina's voice for the first time in a couple weeks. She tells him about yesterday's classes, her room and roommate, California, and ends her voicemail pretty quickly with a sentence that makes Benny's heart flutter inside his chest.

 

"Anyways, I'll call Usnavi instead, but call me tonight! Bye!"

 

 

  
_She called me first_. He can't type in her number fast enough to hear her voice for real.


	2. Vanessa

 

 

There is no beginning to this whatsoever for Vanessa, because there is no "this" to speak of, Usnavi is just a friend, thank you very much.

 

There is, however, a moment where everyone starts making a big deal of the non-existing "this".

 

It's early in the morning and Daniela and Carla are already at the bodega when Vanessa steps in for her coffee. Early winter, the sun isn't even out yet and she's feeling grumpy already and that feeling intensifies when she finds that Usnavi isn't behind the counter, Sonny and Pete are.

 

"Where's Usnavi?" She frowns.

 

Daniela and Carla turn around with smiles like sharks, like she's been caught alive in their radius and they'll eat her up.

 

"Came home late from his date," Sonny says. "He sleeping."

 

"Oh. A'ight," she replies and gets her coffee.

 

She knows it won't be the end of it. And it isn't. By the time they're at the salon, Daniela and Carla are still grinning with schemes and silly ideas in their minds that Vanessa wants nothing to do with.

 

"Jealous of Usnavi's date, Van?" Carla teases her.

 

"What?!" She spits out.

 

"Your eyes," Daniela points, taking a sip of coffee before going on. "Jealous eyes. You looked like you wanted to gut Sonny inside out."

 

"That's bullshit," she says and refuses to hear any more.

 

She does hear more of it. It starts with Daniela's knowing (but in fact not knowing anything since none of this is founded) glances whenever Usnavi is mentioned in the salon. Then Abuela gets started on this somehow and asks just the same "How are things doing between you and Usnavi?" every so often, despite Vanessa's very clear answer. Then Daniela starts sending Vanessa to fetch things from the bodega more and more often. Then a million other things, all more annoying than each other.

 

Through it all, Usnavi and her stay the same as ever. Just platonic friends _with no crush between them at all_. He serves her coffee and smiles, like he does anyone else, and the sweaty palms of his are just the temperatures of the summer. Or the heater in winter. They're always sweaty when he's around her. _No_ , she thinks, _they're always sweaty, period. You have no effect on him whatsoever_.

 

A dinner by Abuela Claudia's opens her eyes to the reality: Usnavi does have a crush. Not on Vanessa, though.

 

They're all eating together some Dominican dish that Usnavi made that Vanessa doesn't know the name of − she's not Dominican and doesn't care much for the cooking of any island to be honest. She barely enjoys her mom's Mexican food. What she does care for is a calm night with friends. There's Abuela Claudia, of course, and of course Sonny is there − he's been living with them these days, but it's always more polite not to ask with Sonny because she doesn't want to seem like she's judging his mom for making him stay elsewhere when the finances aren't too good. Then Usnavi is sitting at the end of the table, serving everyone, smiling like an idiot − he loves having people over. Next to him, Nina, and Benny on the other side, and Vanessa next to Benny.

 

Midway through the dinner, even though they're supposed to be having fun and chatting together, she notices Benny's gaze turning icy cold whenever Nina and Usnavi talk. She starts paying attention to them as well and her and Benny become a duo of frustration on their side of the table. It's like Usnavi and Nina can't tear away from each other, Vanessa realizes. Well, except when they do and talk with the rest of them, but when they talk together, they're inseparable. It's disgusting.

 

Usnavi is no good for Nina, she knows it in her guts. She just needs to figure out why. Throughout the rest of the evening, she finds reasons why it's terrible and she can't wait to get out of here and stop watching her best friend destroy herself like that. When they go home for the night, Vanessa is almost surprised that Nina goes through with her plans to sleep over at Vanessa's. The way she was with Usnavi, Vanessa almost expected her to spend the night.

 

"So, are you going to tell me what's been bothering you all night," Nina says when they're out of ear reach of Abuela's stoop, "Or do I need to pry it out from you?"

 

"Nothing's wrong," Vanessa grunts.

 

She shoves her hands into her pockets and walks faster. Why is it freezing out here? It's supposed to be almost summer, it's supposed to be hot.

 

"Alright, the second one then." Nina's voice has a laughter to it that Vanessa doesn't like one bit. "But you're gonna have to work with me here."

 

Exasperated, Vanessa turns around to glare up at Nina.

 

"You can't date Usnavi, okay?" She bites out. "You just… You can't!"

 

" _I_ can't… What?"

 

"Usnavi! The guy you've been all lovey-dovey with all night! You can't date him, alright, he's too old, and you're leaving for California in a couple months anyways. His goatee is stupid and he should wear his hair longer, and he's a business owner, isn't that like, way too old and mature for you? Totally different stages of life. And he's way too caught up with Abuela to care about anyone, and he's got a cousin to take care of, that's too much baggage. And… why are you looking at me like that?"

 

Nina is staring at her the whole time, a smile starting to lighten her face. It's really not the moment for it, not when Vanessa is worried about her, and the worst thing is that it starts to look teasing, almost a smirk.

 

"What?" She asks a little bit more aggressively than she ought to.

 

"So you _do_ have a crush on Usnavi," Nina says like the vicious little jerk she is. "I was wondering if it was just Dani's gossip."

 

"That's… That's disgusting and wrong, you're the one who's been eying him all night!"

 

"Sounds to me like _you_ were watching him a lot to even notice," Nina teases.

 

"I wasn't! You were just obvious and gross and… ugh, don't date him, okay? He's too old and he's not good enough for you."

 

Nina's smile doesn't change one bit. It's like nothing Vanessa says is piercing that bubble of hers. When she does answer, finally, she takes Vanessa's hand in hers, interlacing their fingers.

 

"I don't like Usnavi," she says in a low voice, just for Vanessa. "Not like that."

 

A heavy weight lifts from Vanessa's chest. It must be the weight of worrying for her best friend.

 

"Okay. Good."

 

They walk in silence for one more block before Nina gets the bullshit going again.

 

"I think you may have been projecting a little bit."

 

"I wasn't!" Vanessa retorts immediately. "There's nothing to project."

 

"Mmh."

 

One more block. Vanessa lets go of Nina's hand.

 

"You better not talk to Dani about this."

 

"I won't," Nina says and bless her, or damn her, she's still smiling.

 

They reach Vanessa's building, get into bed, Nina on the sleeping mat on the floor (Vanessa always insists she takes the bed, she always refuses), and get ready to sleep. Right as she's starting to fall asleep, she hears Nina whisper to her.

 

" _You totally have a crush on Usnavi._ "

 

 

She throws a pillow at Nina's face to make her shut up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, if you read this and enjoyed it, please consider leaving a comment to tell me what you liked :) It really means the world to get feedback. You don't need an AO3 account to leave kudos or post a comment.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, if you read this and enjoyed it, please consider leaving a comment to tell me what you liked :) It really means the world to get feedback. You don't need an AO3 account to leave kudos or post a comment.


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